And the Clivia I wrote about two years ago – suspecting the plants were virusy – put out two flower spikes this summer. What did I do right? I have no idea. Perhaps fed it a bit more often? It certainly didn’t get the cold spell it likes between October and February – which is apparently why it bloomed in June and not March, as it should.

Who cares! By blooming, it has given me hope. Perhaps I’ll figure out a way to chill it. Perhaps I have a sister with an unheated sun porch. Or perhaps I’ll actually follow these detailed care instructions from CliviaUSA.com. And maybe I’ll have even better luck (and more to be grateful for) next time.

My friend Veronica tells me the secret with clivias is to ignore them. Perhaps that’s what I did right?

Helen

3 comments

I have 3 clivia and they always bloom in the summertime. I don't give them exposure to any cold, I put them outside as soon as the leaves on the trees are out and put them in my shady back garden. They bloom in mid-July. I repot them in Sept. and bring them inside where they are exposed to lower light. I leave the seed heads on and I water them once a week. I cut the seed heads off in May and repeat the cycle. They always bloom!

Last spring mine rebloomed for the first time since I bought it many years ago. I had put it into the basement over the winter and forgotten it. It had not been watered at all in that time. It got only the light from the overhead fluorescent and other lights I leave on on the time…but it was still in a low light situation. It put out three lovely flower stalks. I'm trying to repeat the treatment this year.

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Those Battersby Girls

Toronto Gardens is from the muddy hands of Helen Battersby and Sarah Battersby, sisters and neighbours who come from long lines of English gardeners. We garden in Toronto's east end, but poke our green noses into growing spaces all over.